| Major Football Rivalries |
Article Index for Major |
Website Links For Major |
Information AboutMajor Football Rivalries |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MAJOR FOOTBALL RIVALRIES | |
| football soccer rivalries | |
|
AJAX VS FEYENOORD The most important rivalry in the Netherlands is that between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord Rotterdam . Both have won the Dutch national championship numerous times and have dominated the Dutch league since the beginning of professional football in Holland in the 1950s. Ajax has always been the bigger of the two, and are perceived arrogant, while Feyenoord is the club supported by dockworkers from the Rotterdam port. They always feel that the media is more supportive of Ajax, wether this is true or not depends on who you root for. In recent years PSV Eindhoven has been more successful than Feyenoord, but still people in Holland feel that there is only one classic match in the Dutch league. As of 2005 154 official matches have been played since 1922, Ajax winning 63, Feyenoord winning 51 and 39 have ended in a draw. This excludes one edition which was cancelled due to fog. AMéRICA VS GUADALAJARA A long standing rivalry between the teams of two of the most important cities in of Guadalajara and Club América of Mexico City . Chivas is known for a long-standing tradition of fielding only Mexican-born players, contrasting with América, who typically hires famous foreigners. América is owned by Televisa , the main communications company in México, and thus have a huge fan base in the whole country although Guadalajara also have a very large supporter base nationwide (and is owned by Jorge Vergara , through his expansive pyramid scheme Omnilife ). Both teams have been very successful, each having won 10 championships. This match is sometimes seen as the match of the 'capitalinos', the inhabitants of Mexico City, versus the 'provincianos', the people from the rest of the country. As Mexico City holds some of the economical and political power, some of the resentment boils over. However, not all 'provincianos' share this view, particularly those living in the northern city of Monterrey who also have a share of economical power in the country, Their Own Derby , and their own particular rivalry with Mexico City. The matches tend to be very colorful, as both Estadio Azteca in México City and Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara seat a very large crowd of enthusiastic and roaring fans. Followers of both teams can be found on almost any city in Mexico. Club América - 69 Wins Chivas - 59 Wins Draws - 63 AC MILAN VS INTERNAZIONALE The Milan derby, played biannually at the San Siro stadium, where both teams play there home matches, is one of the most heated in Europe. The AC Milan ultras occupy the 'Curva Sud' (south curve) on match days, while the Inter fans are stationed in the 'Curva Nord'. There is rarely violence between the two clubs ultras, though this does not suggest that there is a lack of passion. The sides have always been considered to have political differences, though this become blurred over recent years. Inter has traditionally been considered a conservative, upper-class club, and are now headed by president Massimo Moratti, a former candidate for mayor of Milan pegged by an alliance of center-left parties. AC Milan--formerly the team of the city's trade unionists and other members of the left-leaning working class--now enjoy the finances of media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, the right-wing prime minister of Italy. BARCELONA VS REAL MADRID The match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain is considered a very fierce rivalry. This is due to Barcelona being a symbol of Catalan culture against that of the Castillean Real Madrid. In fact, to many the teams represent the Franco regime (Real) and the opposition to it (Barça). Being the two most important teams in Spain , and two of the most important in the world, but also because of the popularity of the players of both clubs, the game attracts the attention of the whole world. The derby is dubbed as "El clásico" by the Spanish press. Animosity between the two clubs rose further in 2000 when Barça star player Luis Figo joined their arch-rivals in a £37 million deal. He was showered with bottles, lighters and a pig's head. BENFICA VS FC PORTO This is the biggest clash in Portugal . FC Porto , the symbol of the northern city of Porto , against SL Benfica , the big club from Lisbon , capital of Portugal. Many see this as the new power (FC Porto) in Portuguese football versus the traditional strong force (Benfica). The matches between this two Sports Clubs , even in other sports such as Basketball or Rink Hockey , always attract similar attention across the whole country, showing all the rivalry that exists between North/South of Portugal (FC Porto/Benfica). BOCA JUNIORS VS RIVER PLATE These two teams from Buenos Aires , Argentina are the protagonist of the so called ''El Superclásico'' of Argentine Football (''The Superderby''. Spanish , clásico –meaning ''classic''– is the word used meaning derby in Argentina). The rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate is intense, and the teams have sometimes taken to distribute posters to tease the other team after a defeat between them or even lost in any major competition, or to show off after winning the local league or an international championship. This derby is considered to be one of the most exciting in the world. in 2004 , British newspaper The Observer made a list of the '' 50 sporting things you must do before you die '', with ''Watch Boca Juniors Play River Plate in Buenos Aires'' at the top of the list. Known worldwide for the passion of the fans, the fields of both teams are loaded with passionate songs (often based on popular Argentine rock band tunes) against their rivals, fireworks, flags and paper. There are also infrequent riots between the hardest supporters of both sides. The history of matches between them shows a huge advantage to Boca Juniors, though Boca fans call their River counterparts ''"hijos nuestros"'' ("our sons") in allusion to statistics favouring their team. This is the record of matches between Boca Juniors and River Plate as of March 27, 2006: :'' statistics at RSSSF '' CELTIC VS RANGERS One of the most heated football matches in the world is the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers . Both clubs play in Glasgow , Scotland and the match is one of the oldest derbies in the world, dating back to 1888, when Celtic first beat Rangers 5-2. The Old Firm derby is also one of the most contested matches in the world, with over 400 games having been played. The Old Firm match is one of the most fiercely battled in the world and the crowds are rarely disappointed. It splits Glasgow in two and the rivalry is so intense that fans are warned not to wear team colours around the city at any times (Celtic's colours being green and white, while Rangers' colours are blue and red). The matches are played at either Celtic Park with 60,000 fans or Ibrox Park in front of 50,000. Before an Old Firm game, local news coverage is often of nothing other than the game. Rangers are considered a Protestant club with Unionist and Royalist supporters, while Celtic is considered a Catholic club with Republican supporters. It is by far the greatest football rivalry in Britain and has long had connections with the political Conflict in Northern Ireland . Rangers currently lead their bitter rivals in terms of trophies won (the most successful in fact in World Football with 107 won in all) and also in the head to head history between the two clubs :- Rangers F.C. - 242 Wins Celtic F.C. - 190 Wins Draws - 137 FENERBAHçE VS GALATASARAY Named as "Turkish Delight" in BBC's derby section, this is the clash of Turkey's two most successful teams. For some fans, winning the derby is more important than winning the league. Galatasaray won both the UEFA and Super Cup in 2000, and their fans tease Fenerbahçe fans because of their relative failure in European competitions. Conversely, Fenerbahçe fans mock their opponents due to recent derby results, such as the 2002/03 match in which Fenerbahçe won 6-0 at home. The fans of the two teams are traditionally split along class lines, with Fenerbahçe being the working class team and Galatasaray - who were founded by Galatasaray Lycee students - the more aristocratic. Fenerbahçe is a bit more successful than Galatasaray in the derby, which was first played in 1909. Even though there are ethnic, geographic or religious differences between sides in other derbies in the world, there's almost no difference between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray fans; they are all Turks and most of them would react in the same way in another issue meaning that they don't like the other side because ''they'' are of Fenerbahçe or Galatasaray. FLAMENGO VS FLUMINENSE The most traditional football rivalry in Brazil is Flamengo and Fluminense , also known as the Fla-Flu Derby . Starting in 1913, when Flamengo emerged as an offspring of Fluminense, these two clubs have played against each other more than 200 times, most of them at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio De Janeiro . The matches tend to gain an importance greater than ordinary, even if they are not so important in terms of league points. Both teams are the major winners of the Rio De Janeiro State League , Fluminense with 30 and Flamengo with 28 cups. Flamengo is one of the clubs that most won Brazilian Leagues with 4 titles, and although Fluminense has only 1, the Fla-Flu still today remains the most spicy and charming derby in the country. FLAMENGO VS VASCO The so-called " level, both teams cultivate similar unsurpassed figures, with 4 Brazilian titles since 1971, as a controversial 5th title to Flamengo in 1987 was denied by {Link without Title} . Fierce field rivalry also extended to international level where Flamengo boasts one Intercontinental Cup title whereas Vasco was once runner-up in 1998 and later on again in 2000 at the 1st World Club championship. Both teams won once the Libertadores Cup and Mercosul Cup. Runner-up statistics are also part of the rivalry as seen as shameful and hinting a lack of fighting spirit ("raça", i.e. literally race). Since 2002, both clubs seem to confirm their seemingly-atavic rivalry by simultaneously displaying poor performances and struggling to avoid relegation to Brazilian second division. They also compete at high level on other sports such as rowing (their original sport as both were founded "clube de regatas" - rowing ''regatte'' club - in 1895 and 1898 respectively, hence the coveted title of "earth and sea"), basketball, swimming, futsal or judo. GRêMIO VS INTERNACIONAL The biggest rivalry in South Brazil, Internacional versus Grêmio is the clash between the main forces of southern soccer - this derby is called Gre-Nal and the hatred between these two clubs can only be compared to the rivalry between argentinian's Boca and River in South America. Internacional (also called "colorado" and "Inter") is a four-time national champion and the biggest winner of the Campeonato Gaúcho with 37 cups and Grêmio was champion of the world and two times of the Libertadores Da América , and has 34 cups. There's a whole mystic around this classic. Grêmio was founded by and for German's only high class of Porto Alegre , while Inter was founded by Italian, Portuguese and Spanish immigrants, who were not allowed to join Grêmio, and was the first of both clubs to use Blacks and mixed players. Because of that, Inter is called "the club of the people of Rio Grande Do Sul " (O Clube do Povo) and is more popular than Grêmio in number of supporters. The clubs played 272 matches, with an advantage of Inter: 97 victories, while Grêmio winned 79 and 97 matches ended in draw. LIVERPOOL VS MANCHESTER UNITED The two most successful clubs in English football, Liverpool and Manchester United , have a long standing rivalry, so much so that no player has been transferred between the two since Phil Chisnall moved from United to Liverpool in 1964 . The rivalry has its roots in inter-city animosity between Liverpool and Manchester and the historical success both teams have enjoyed throughout the decades. Both teams also have big city rivals in Everton and Manchester City respectively, but the inter-city contest arguably outranks both of these. Fierce to the end Man Utd and Liverpool respect each other but hate each other. PEñAROL VS. NACIONAL One of football's classic derbies, the Uruguayan ''súperclásico'' is the confrontation between the two greatest teams of Montevideo , Peñarol and Nacional . The rivalry is an important component of Uruguayan culture, and the country is paralyzed every time the clubs meet each other. They both play this derby as home teams at the legendary Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, so the venue never changes for this match no matter who acts as the "home" team. Nacional's and Peñarol's stadiums are no bigger than 20,000 so this huge popular game can't be played in these places. The most popular is Peñarol, whose supporters historically represents the immigrants (as the club was founded by English railway workers).Nacional represents, as the name says, the nationalists ones. Also there's a connection with average Nacional supporters being part of the high class, and Peñarol fans as part of the mid-working class. As of the footballing style, average Nacional teams through history had been emparented with a more "Brazilian" way of playing, and Peñarol with a more classic uruguayan style, even with some few argentine elements. SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|